GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Domestic disagreements, drug interactions and armed robberies are a few of the causes behind 17 homicides in Grand Rapids in 2013.

The city's homicide victims range in age from 2 to 69. They were children, mothers, fathers, a grandmother and a veteran.

The city in 2012 also lost 17 people to homicides, and police said many of those incidents stemmed from personal disagreements. The causes behind this past year's slayings were notably diverse, Lt. Pat Merrill said.

"We’ve had years go by where all of our homicides were drug related, and actually several in a row not that long ago," Merrill said in late December. "This year was not like that."

Police believe four victims were innocent bystanders – people who became intermixed in other people's violence.

"That’s unbelievable and that’s pretty unusual for us," Merrill said.

Detectives have solved eight homicides from 2013. The solve rate does not include the death of Delorian Taylor, who police said was fatally shot by a concealed weapons permit holder after he attempted an armed robbery in October. It has not yet been decided whether the CPL holder will face charges in Taylor's death.

The varying homicide circumstances impede detectives' ability to work together on separate cases, Merrill said. The more similar cases are, the more value detectives can have from crossover, even when homicides are not directly linked. Cases involving similar motives or people can allow for one larger investigation, Merrill said.

Still, police say many of 2013's open cases are close to being solved.

Merrill referred to the deaths – most attributed to gun violence – as "senseless." He urged people to think twice before picking up a gun illegally.